“It remains standing at ten yards’ height. That means starvation!” “Do you know why it cannot rise higher than fifteen yards, Nepht?” “Because otherwise we should drown,” answered the fisherman simply. “Yes, certainly, and that we cannot. The Nile, then, has a Lord who controls the water-level; and He who has measured out the starry vault, and laid the foundations of the earth, has set up a wall for the waters, and this wall, which we cannot see, is fifteen yards high. For during the great flood in the land of our fathers, Ur of the Chaldees, the water rose fifteen yards--no more, no less. Yes, Nepht, I say ‘we,’ for you are of our people, though you speak another tongue, and honour strange gods. I wish you a good morning, Nepht, a very good morning.” He left the abashed fisherman, went on, and entered the outskirts of the city, where began the rows of citizens’ houses built of Nile-bricks and wood. He saw the merchant and money-changer Eleazar taking down his window-shutters while his assistant sprinkled water on the ground before the shop. Amram greeted him, “A fine morning, cousin Eleazar.” “I cannot say,” answered the tradesman sulkily. “The Nile has remained stationary, and begins to sink. The times are bad.” “Bad times are followed by good times, as our father Abraham knew; and when Joseph, Jacob’s son, foresaw the seven lean years he counselled Pharaoh to store up corn in the granaries....” “May be, but that is a forgotten tale now.” “Yes, and have you also forgotten the promise which the Lord gave to his friend Abraham?” “That about the land of Canaan? We have waited four hundred years for its fulfilment, and now, instead of receiving it, Abraham’s children have become bond-servants.” “Abraham believed through good and through evil days, through joy and through sorrow, and that was counted to him for righteousness.” “I don’t believe at all,” Eleazar broke in, “or rather, I believe that things go backwards, and that I will have to put up my shutters, if there is a failure in the crops.” Amram went on with a sad face, and came to the market, where he bought a millet loaf, a piece of an eel, and some onions. When the market-woman took the piece of money, she spat on it, and when Amram received his change, he did the same. “Do you spit on the money, Hebrew?” she hissed. “One adopts the customs of the country,” answered Amram. “Do you answer, unclean dog?” “I answer speech, but not abuse.” The Hebrew went on, for a crowd began to gather. He met the barber, Enoch, and they greeted each other with a sign which the Hebrews had devised, and which signified, “We believe in the promise to Abraham, and wait, patient in hope.”